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Photosynthetic compensation by the reproductive structures in the spring ephemeral Gagea lutea

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Abstract

Growth and reproduction of spring ephemerals inhabiting deciduous forests progress simultaneously during a short period from snowmelt to canopy closure. To clarify the mechanism to mitigate the cost of reproduction, contributions of foliar and non-foliar photosynthetic products to seed production were examined in a spring ephemeral Gagea lutea. Leaf growth, foliar and non-foliar photosynthetic activities, and total assimilated products were compared among reproductive-intact, floral bud-removal, and vegetative plants. Translocation of current photosynthetic products to individual organs was quantified by 13CO2-trace experiment. Bulb growth was compared between hand-pollination and floral bud-removal treatments. Finally, seed set was compared between intact, leaf-clipping, and bract-clipping treatments. Fruit-forming plants retained leaves longer than vegetative and floral bud-removal plants, but the assimilative contribution of extended leaf longevity was negligible. Carbon supply by bract photosynthesis was large enough for fruit development, while carbon supply by fruit photosynthesis was offset by the high respiration loss. Foliar photosynthetic products were largely transported to bulbs, while translocation to reproductive functions was negligible. Because the floral bud-removal increased the bulb growth, lack of reproduction could lead to more storage. The leaf-clipping had no effect on seed production, while the bract-clipping significantly reduced the seed production. Therefore, current photosynthesis of leafy bracts might be a major carbon source for fruit development. This self-compensative mechanism of reproductive structure enables the continuous reproductive activity in this species.

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Acknowledgments

This study was partly supported by a grant-in-aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science [23405006]. We thank R. Miyata, A. Koyama, and T. Saito for their help in the field survey; and the editor and anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan

    Ninuola Sunmonu & Gaku Kudo

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Takashi Y. Ida

Authors
  1. Ninuola Sunmonu
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  2. Takashi Y. Ida
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  3. Gaku Kudo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ninuola Sunmonu.

Appendices

Appendix 1

See Table 6

Table 6 Photosynthetic parameters of Gagea lutea estimated for basal leaves at individual growth stages and reproductive treatments (reproductive-intact, vegetative, and floral bud-removal plants) in 2010
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Appendix 2

See Table 7

Table 7 Photosynthetic parameters of Gagea lutea estimated for reproductive organs (fruit and bract) at individual growth stages in 2010 (for fruits) and 2011 (for bracts)
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Appendix 3

See Table 8

Table 8 Dry weight allocation to individual organs at flowering (1st May) and fruiting (28th May) stages in Gagea lutea
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Sunmonu, N., Ida, T.Y. & Kudo, G. Photosynthetic compensation by the reproductive structures in the spring ephemeral Gagea lutea . Plant Ecol 214, 175–188 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-012-0157-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-012-0157-7

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